Jaguars' Coen Shares Scouting Report for Bryce Young

Lawrence and Panthers quarterback Bryce Young both enter critical seasons. The two have much to prove in different regards: Lawrence's health and consistency, Young's need to maintain momentum from last year. The 2023 No. 1 overall draft selection heads into Jacksonville looking to prove he can be among the league's best and that the final 10 weeks of the season were no fluke.

Young's play, which saw him tally 20 total touchdowns to only six interceptions in the final 10 games last season, shows incremental growth from a quarterback who was benched for a month. There is a reason fans, players, and coaches are excited about his possibilities, including Jaguars' Coen.

Coen played against Young twice last year as the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Having seen a lot of him in the final weeks of the season, Coen said Young's improvement with his footwork stood out.

"I think you see a guy that, footwork they were trying to work on his lower half, getting him to play more in rhythm."

Coen quickly began praising Young for his ability as a passer when things are clicking. He noted the Panthers quarterback's ability to move out of the pocket, using his legs, and how he distributes the ball like Golden State Warriors future Hall of Fame point guard Steph Curry, among other things.

"Man, he can hurt you in a few different ways. You let that dude out of the pocket, he can be a problem because he uses his legs as a runner, but also he remains a passer as he does scramble and move around," Coen said. "I always kind of thought he had some Steph Curry-ish ability as a quarterback, where he can distribute it and when things are clicking, I mean, he improved a ton I thought last year over the season."

As the Panthers' offense began to gradually improve late last season with Young, Coen's experience from playing against him allowed him to describe what made Young dangerous, specifically with Carolina's run game.

"When they’re able to run it and establish the run game and get their mid-zone going and get him kind of on the move and playing the position, he can be dangerous," Coen explained.

That means much of the responsibility will be for the Jaguars' pass rush to stay disciplined in their plan of attack, specifically Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, laying that charge of preparation on first-year defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile.

"So, our rush plan has got to be extremely coordinated. We’ve got to understand he wants to escape at times, and he does have a quick release," Coen said. "So, we’ve got to affect the quarterback in more ways than one.”

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